The Unshatterable Silence
by MayMargaret
Summary: When events take an eerie turn for Mia Morton, a man appears who makes the strangeness more...believable. But as more children disappear in the winter chill, she must save her questions and her logical mind for another day.
1. Chapter 1

The snow fell as clumps around me as I stood, still and unshivering in the icy breeze, tickling my closed eyes and making my lips almost smile contentedly. I flexed my fingers in their mittens, stuffed into my pockets, and sighed. The cool air tightened my chest as I inhaled.

"Mum!"

The small voice wouldn't have interrupted me, had it not been a scream. I snapped open my eyes and spun on the spot, searching for the child. Close by, a little figure was pursuing me, his tiny padded arms restricted by his thick green coat. "Help!"

"What is it, sweety?" I asked him calmly, crouching down to his level and staring up into his panicked hazel eyes. Tears were brimming, but refused to fall, impossibly holding back. "M-my m-mom h-has...sh-she was right-t th-ere!" he exclaimed through hiccups, pointing hurriedly to the spot behind him. His hands didn't seem to know what to do, whether to flail or ring together.

I swallowed the piteous feeling and smiled assuringly. "Well, why don't we find her together? I'm sure she can't be too far. I'm Mia, by the way."

The boy hesitated, and then nodded enthusiastically. "O-okay...Simon" he said, a little more confidently. His hand shot out, and flexed his fingers to signal. I took his hand, and laughed a little. "We're matching," I pointed out, and he giggled at our red mittened hands.

We found ourselves outside a nearby woods, and for the first time in that day, I felt weary. "I don't think she'll be in there, Si. Lets try somewhere else, huh?"

The boy didn't answer, and I glanced down at him in question. Eyes focused ahead, he was still for a few countless seconds. Then, he tugged gently on my hand. "No, this way," he said, verging on demanding. Stubborn child, I nervously laughed to myself. I thought I would humour him by following his trail. After all, it was possible. I certainly hadn't caught sight or sound of a panicked mother so far.

Within minutes, we came to a clearing in the trees, and found a frozen over pond. A small wooden bridge stood next to it, overlooking, covered in icicles. The scene looked like it belonged on a Christmas card. But it also looked...too quiet. It was. Not a bird, or even an insect making a sound.

"I don't think she's here, Simon," I whispered, scared of breaking the seemingly unshatterable silence. "Come on, we should go ba-"

"No!" He shouted suddenly, tugging on my arm as I turned to lead the way out. A pain shot through my shoulder, and I winced in anger. "We're going to find her! She's around here somewhere," his desperate voice reasoned, becoming shrill with panic. I still felt sick from the pain. I kept my eyes on the kid, hoping he didn't run off. Then I felt pressure on my fingers, and his eyes grew wide.

"There!" he exclaimed, and tugged his hand away, laughing as he ran toward the bridge. I followed with my eyes, and found he was heading for the bridge. A tall, white figure stood there, a ghostly pale fale with black clothing. She held her hand out for the boy, but made no other gesture to embrace him. She simply stood, staring out over the pond. "Mom! This lady helped me find you!" he explained excitedly, as though he expected her to thank me. She simply stared as she did, and I could see she was unblinking, even at this distance; her eyes were huge.

"Nice girl," I heard close by, right next to my ear, in fact. Only a whisper. I flicked my head to the side, but nothing was there. I snapped my eyes back, and the bridge was empty.

I was alone in the resumed unshatterable silence.

Only a strange noise, a low, pulsing, mechanical sound close by, one that didn't seem to fit.

I waited for a moment, only a moment, for what I didn't quite know. After that moment, I turned to leave.

…

"Good old Lon-"

The tall man swung the blue doors open with a sense of happy returns, expecting the usual dingy car park, the sound of traffic and perhaps a large grey building gracing his brown eyes. But no, he had to land in a forest.

He was miserable and disappointed and grimaced for only a second, until he realised that the totally white picture was covered in snow.

"Ha! Snow!" he shouted in victory, scooped some up in his hand and threw it at a distant tree. "Snow that isn't ash! Snow at Christmas, what ever next!" He promptly removed his sunglasses and returned into the TARDIS, swapping them for a multicoloured scarf; for the sake of blending in, of course. On his first enthusiastic step into the blanketed ground, ice cold liquid seeped into his red converses, and he would have blessed the day if it wasn't tainted by a familiar itching in his brain.

_Something is afoot here,_ he mused mentally, changing his cheery disposition for the serious, business-like man he was meant to be. With each tread and crunch of the white stuff beneath his feet, his inner child winced.

…

The walk home was tainted by thoughts on what had happened only a few minutes ago, from Simon's reaction to his apparent mother on the bridge, staring like a ghoul at nothing in particular. Her face flickered across my eyes for only a second, and it sent a chill down my spine.

Hell, she couldn't help the way she looked. Maybe she was in shock...

Even in reassuring myself, I sounded idiotic. But when I started wondering, I sounded even more idiotic. I should be happy the kid found his mum. But so would the mum...and she showed...nothing...

"Mia, stop it!" I cursed, and mentally slapped myself for talking out loud...to myself.

"Excuse me!" A male voice called, followed by heavy footsteps. I turned and faced the direction of the snow, blowing my red hair from my face beneath my blue beanie. This time, it was a tall figure, very tall and slim, running in my direction. He was fast, the tails of his long brown trench coat bellowing behind, but his long legs carried him further than what I could do in 5 strides. He slowed to a walk, and soon he was only a few feet away.

"Bit of a strange question, actually," he chuckled, ruffling his messy hair with his unpocketed hand, "Could you inform me where I..er...am...please?"

I had to admit, I was a little stricken by his smile to register the strangeness of his question, but it eventually caught up.

"Where you...are?"

He laughed again, embarrassed, but his brown eyes were sincere. "I would've asked someone else...but there seems to be no one around. Is it always as quiet as this? I would have expected families to turn out in the masses..." he paused his babbling only a moment, and looked back to stare at me. "Was that comment rude? I wasn't judging your abilities on placing geographical locations in which you're currently...present. Especially from a man who-"

"Who doesn't know where he is," I finished for him, finding him slightly adorable and amusing. He ruffled his hair awkwardly again, and I thanked the cool wind for making my cheeks red already. "In answer to your question, you're in Scotland."

He paused, and searched round. A smile grew on his face, contagious. I found myself smiling at nothing, just because. "Scotland, yes I recognise this place! Bit different now mind you, although I last time I was here is was over 1 hun..." His voice trailed off at the end, and I was sure he'd forgotten my presence. Suddenly he turned his face to me again, his face scrunched in confusion. "But surely," he began, as though restarting an unfinished conversation, "where are the families? The kids on sledges? This is weird," he commented, as though it truly distressed him.

"I don't know," I replied, seriously, catching his attention. "I haven't seen any kids around here for a few days now...since the snow came, I've seen one child. I feel that its wasted."

I felt childish for my comment, until I noticed his expression, and how interested it seemed in my words. His eyes became distant once i'd finished, as though raking something over.

"Hmm...strange indeed." He pulled his hand out of his pocket and ruffled his hair once more, and slid it down his face thoughtfully, scratching his chin with a similar expression. "Anyway, thanks for the...you know..."

"Placing yourself," I added, and laughed. He laughed, too. "Yeah, always an awkward question to ask. What's your name?"

Should I? Should I give a perfect stranger my name? Would the usual Mia Morton give a strange man her name, no matter how interesting or unusually charming he was? My mind drifted back, almost automatic, like a niggling reminder, of the events of a few minutes ago, watching a boy and a creepy woman vanish into thin air. Too much strangeness now, and this man's presence made the strangeness feel all the more...believable.

"Mia, Morton. Nice to meet you."

He returned my smile with a nonchalant grin. "John Smith, likewise. Thanks for your help!" he shouted the second part, having begun running in the direction he'd come from.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as I was in the house, I collapsed back onto the front foor and watched the breath create swirls of mist before me. Beyond it, I saw my reflection in the glass door, and began laughing. Again, I didn't know why. Perhaps it was a stress response, perhaps it was tiredness. Perhaps it was the rather unusual man who seemed smart enough to know where he was, but acted as though he'd simply stumbled upon a random little place by accident every week. Maybe he did, perhaps he was mad.

Too many uncertainties surrounding that man, I mused, and pushed myself from the door with my foot and slipped the damp boots and coat away. I padded down the empty hallway pensively; it was too quiet. The quiet made me a little more weary now. I shook of the thought and switched the tv on, flicking through so not to land on a news report about the shocking snow.

"...police say it truly is a mystery, and have offered no other information on the disappearances..."

I caught myself and flicked back quickly, and glued my eyes to the screen in interest.

"The families are, quite naturally, very distressed," the blond reporter explained, "but they have been assured that the force are doing all they can. But one question is hanging in the air. Is any child safe?"

The question lingered for a moment, and I hastily switched to the next channel. "So dramatic," I mused to myself. They were making it sound like the child catcher was being let loose. But...it did sound similar to what happened to the boy, Simon. Could it be happening in other places...? More children going missing?

My thoughts were interrupted with a knocking on the door, and I glanced out of the window. It was dark, but no car in the drive way. I sighed, and stood, and could have sworn that coat tails were flapping in the edge of the window, behind the wall. I opened the door just a touch, suddenly on guard. "Hello?"

"Oh! Hello!"

The cheery voice was unmistakable, as was the awkwardly grinning face beneath the messy hair, black and spiky in the damp snow. "Hello," I laughed again, forgetting my unease.

Silence fell for a moment, and I waited for an explanation. He seemed to reawaken in response to my silent question. "Oh, yes. Erm, not following you, don't worry. This just seems to be the only occupied house at the moment, doesn't it seem?"

I stepped around him out on to the door step and glanced up and down the street. Any other house would be lit with a glow behind the curtain, or a golden light shining through the windows of the doors. Each house was dead, empty. Not a car in sight. "Oh," I breathed. "Maybe theyre finally enjoying the weather?" I reasoned, but my answer resonated against the silence; I would be able to hear the screams and laughter from here.

"Not a soul," his voice quietly informed. I turned to look at him, and met his brown eyes, seriousness flecking within them. I went back inside, and pulled my coat and boots back on. "There's got to be at least one," I argued, against him or myself, I was unsure, and led the way down the drive from the clicking of the door. I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked, though I wasn't cold. With each corner that I saw a blacked out house, I shiver ran down my spine.

"I was watching the news, apparently kids have been going missing."

"I heard."

"You did?"

His footsteps scraped in the snow and fell into sync with hers. "Why do you think I'm here?" His grim voice quizzed.

"Accident?"

He smiled a self conscious, contagious smile again, lowing his head in thought. "Well, yes, but not totally by accident. All this kind of stuff happens in London."

"That's why I moved."

"You lived in London?" He suddenly jumped at the new information with more interest than it merited. "Yep," I said, popping the 'p', "and too much weird stuff happened. Scotland it much more...rural. Quieter. Its not particularly interesting, but its safer."

At least thats what I thought.

"So, you some kind of investigator?"

He made a thoughtful noise, as though weening out a better term, and his face fell when he couldn't find one. "It makes me sound like im from a cheesy 70's tv show, but yeah, sort of."

"Ok, the type that investigates disappearances in Scotland when they're only supposed to be happening in London? Or is that police information?"

"Do you know something?"

The question shocked me a little, because I didn't think he would catch on. I slowed my step with his, and soon we were standing still. "I...I think I know what's taking them."

His eyes grew dark and more serious, and that only made me doubt by sensationalist explanation.

"A kid early, not long before you found me, he lost his mum. We looked in the woods and he said he'd found her, but the woman he went to...she was strange. Then they both vanished."

"You saw them vanish?"

"No, no," I rushed, "I looked away for a second because I heard a voice next to me, but I looked back instantly and the space was empty."

He examined my face for a moment, and leaned back on his heels. Suddenly his demeanour changed to one of nonchalance. He threw out his hand and grinned like an erratic child. "Then lets go find him, Mia Morton!"

I took it, and we were running, and I knew deep down that I could trust this stranger with my life, John Smith or no John Smith.


	3. Chapter 3

The clearing was devoid of life when we found it, save for the occasional whistle of a bird. It was low, sad, mournful. It was impossible to say how I knew, I simply did. The unexplainable was possible now, or at least it felt that way.

"She was standing there. The bridge was empty, just as it is now, and then she appeared. Simon was so happy, but she didn't show anything."

The man (the painfully average name of John Smith didn't fit) made his way toward the bridge slowly, crouching down to examine the decking as though it held great secrets.

"I don't think shes there right now," I said sarcastically, but he didn't reply, and I thought he was oblivious to my presence again.

"Oh she is, in some way." His reply was followed by a strange sound, a high pitched buzzing-like sound. I was vaguely reminded of the sound in the woods, following Simon's disappearance.

"Anything?"

"Oh yes," he guffawed, "plenty. A human aaaaaand...hmm. Something unrecognisable. Thats new."

He remained crouching for a few more seconds, and then straightened up again in one swift movement. "It was certainly a trace of something. Something distant, mind you but...something-"

"Not human?"

"Sorry?" he quizzed, with an innocent expression.

"You said," I replied in my distant voice, "'human...and something unrecognisable.' Does that mean, not human? Alien?"

"Afraid so," he said gently, and approached me carefully.

"Awesome. No man with the name 'John Smith' would be so flippant, either. Would he?"

He shook his head, and smiled again, unexpectedly. "You lived in London, where it all happened."

"I remember...very little...I tend to block it out. But...I remember...panic. Plastic figures, ships hovering over our street...The giant beam with shot it as it retreated."

His face was extraordinarily serious when I mentioned the last part. "Yes."

"Why did they kill them?"

My question, my tone, surprised him. "For the protection of the human race, I suppose."

I wanted to quiz more, but I could see it was still a delicate subject. We simply stood in the cold, the snow beginning to pick up speed. He turned his face to the sky, thoughtful.

"I should get home."

"Yeah," he chuckled humourlessly.

We turned to walk back in the direction from which we came, and found our way from the forest clearing.

"So...what do we do now? About this?"

He shrugged, but he was clearly raking this over. "Find some more about about them, I guess. What did she look like?"

I thought back to the terrifying woman, who still sent shivers down my spine. "White hair, White face, black clothing."

"Like the old fashioned ghost."

"A White Lady type thing, yeah, or Banshee. Both very similar."

He continuously slowing step slowed even more, and suddenly he turned and retreated. "Carry on, just checking something," he shouted behind, and I shook my head in derision and continued, just as he said. Still didn't know his name.

I was back home, not living very far from the woods, thankfully, and for the second time that hour I was removing my coat and shoes. I chose to wait in the living room, not bothering to switch the tv on. Instead, I grabbed my laptop and began researching. Anything to make the time go faster. But soon, the minute became the 10 minutes, and that became 30 minutes, and I was unsure whether to be worried. Did he say he was going to return? He knew where I was, but did he say that? Just that he was checking something. He was a very sketchy character, indeed. But I liked him for it. Was that strange? Because he was simply contagious, fascinating and contagious.

I also knew he had some involvement in the London happenings, and knew stuff was going on here despite not really knowing where he was. How he did it was a mystery.

I returned to my reading, researching banshees and what not, when I heard a noise. It took time to pin point it, but as soon as I did, I made for the door to the back garden, the fences aglow with royal blue light against the stark black night. The sound was deafening, and the light was glowing brighter, but I recognised the noise it was making. It was a similar one to the sound I heard in the forest.

As it began to retreat, I risked a glance, and my eyes fell on a tall blue box, the words 'POLICE BOX' in black lettering above the door. I approached it cautiously, grabbed one of its silver handles, and the door opened with a high creaking.

"Must get that fixed," the man's voice complained from somewhere, and appeared from behind the huge column in the middle of the much, much larger room, wires hanging loosely and metal panelling everywhere I glanced. At the base of the column, a large control panel surrounded it, much too alien and complicated.

"Wha-what...how...huh?"

"Not the usual first words," he mused in surprise, sticking out his bottom lip in disappointment. "Different though."

"But its...its..."

"Bigger on the inside," we observed in unison. In fact, he really mimed it sarcastically. I threw him a look. "Apologies if this is new to me."

"Actually you're taking it very well," he remarked, interest in his eyes and hands in his blue pinstripe jacket. He accentuated every syllable with importance. "Almost as if this isn't as new as you think."

"Living in the capital of all things E.T and directly entering a supposedly physically impossible blue box which makes no sense doesn't happen every day. What is this place?"

"Time and Relative Dimension in Space; the TARDIS. Call it my get away car," he said with pride, and glided his hand over the control board with the care of a devoted owner. "Been through some scrapes, ain't we?" he cooed. "These days she lands where she likes, that's my explanation for acting like an escaped elderly this afternoon."

His words should have made me laugh, which I did, but I barely found them funny. They rang in my head like a bell that made no sensible noise but made sense when I saw the man before me. They would have made perfect sense whether they were said now or 2 hours ago. But really, I only really had one question on my mind.

"Who and what are you, may I ask?" My voice was slightly breathless. I had only time to see his face, pushing offence and seriousness away with a caring smile. "Im the Doctor, Time Lord. No, im not from he-"

The walls raced side ways, and that was my last image. My last sensation was arms saving my back and head from crashing into the grated floor.

…

The girl was light in his hands, but he struggled to lift the limp body from the floor. Instead, he slid his other hand beneath her head, and reached the other out as far as he could for the coat folded over the rail by the door. "Frail humans," he remarked in a whisper, weary that she would start up again and slap him. So sensitive.

Once he'd folded it neatly beneath her head, he returned to the controls and waited. He waited for a good few minutes, raking over the information he'd so far gathered from the energy he'd detected at the bridge. That was the thing with almost pure-energy life forms; they could be messy. Helpful to him, but messy. He checked on the unconscious woman again with a glance, which introduced a new train of thought for him.

_No, I cant. _

He shook his head against the idea, resolving it would only end the way it usually did. They always called it 'him leaving them'. In reality they had lives to lead, before the stars and planets and exotic life forms seduced their interests. They would leave him in the end. Its not long before all that becomes as mundane as their days on earth, especially for him. He envied the humans; they were limited in time. Once they did something once, they never knew for sure whether they would do it again. They would die with fulfilled pasts, to their own limitations. For him, he was destined to remain unfulfilled, to continue.

He glanced at the girl again, her pale face, beautiful, and childlike when her eyes weren't open. They held a lot of _oldness_ and wisdom for a woman her age. But he couldn't put her in danger, so carelessly like with the others.

A groan interrupted his miserable thoughts, and the mop of red hair shifted on the floor.

"Wow. Never fainted before," she groaned, and struggled against her heavy body to sit and lean uncomfortably on the rail. She took one weary look at her surroundings to check, and the Doctor turned his eyes away with a smile on his lips in response to the look in her large hazel ones.

"You weren't out for long."

"Hmm? Oh, good."

He turned to look at her again, and she was examining him with keen eyes. "If you were from here I'd say you had bipolar."

The statement caught him off guard; did he really look as miserable as he felt a few seconds ago? The surprise forced a laugh from him, perhaps supporting her hypothesis. When he finished, he returned her look with the care of a real doctor.

"Yes, I'm fine now."

As she stood, he reached into his jacket pocket and slide on his glasses, and gave her a side ways glance when he felt her eyes on the new additions.

"Now," he began, and she predicted a babbling rant, "The residual energy I found is from a life form completely composed of energy, so strong that they can solidify,you might call them poltergeists. BUT, theyre not dead, so that analogy isn't well fitting, SOOO, you're theory of the Banshee may be more appropriate..."

From then he began a very confusing rant about energy properties, which trailed on to something else or other I couldn't follow because he was talking way to fast, and I had to wonder why the hell he wore the glasses. Of course he couldn't see my confusion, he was lost wondering in his own little world of erratic genius.

"...wow...ok...slow down...just...say what applied to the..._life form..._in question."

He looked shocked and frozen mid speech and I almost apologised for my rude interruption. "Oh, sorry, was I doing it?"

"If 'doing it' is babbling about jibberjabber without taking a breath, yes," I said, but I found him too adorable when confused. I'd be confused if I had all that flying around my head.

He paced around further, and suddenly his head popped up. "Banshees, what do you know?"

"Erm, form of faeries, ghost like, death fortellers," I rushed, as though we were playing a game of 20 questions.

"Anything else? Anything, any other folklore associated with children, anything."

"Why does that matter?"

"If something with shape shifting capabilities visits a planet it may become the closest thing to itself out of laziness, now think think think!"

"Erm ok...there is something that mourns the loss of its own child, a woman who died in childbirth? That might be it, but I can't remember the name. There is one that mourns the death of other children or her own that died in other circumstances...-wait that might be the same one. I dont know, faerie folklore tells of faeries that clean, its so random."

"Ok so we have something. That energy I found contained emotional properties that I can read."

"How?"

After a pause, perhaps to judge whether I'd learned too much new stuff in one day, he began to reach into his pocket again, and pulled out a long, pen shaped thing.

"Its a piece of metal."

"Oi!" he exclaimed with offence. "Its a very helpful piece of me- uh...equipment...Thank you very much!"

I pushed back a smile and tried to examine it with more composure. "So, what does the mighty magic pen do?"

"This _device _can help me get a reading on the energy. And it's sensitive! Sonic screwdriver to you!"

"Ok OK! So, I would ask how but I dont want to know, honest!" He closed his lips back together before I let him start. "What is the reading?"

"Well," he began, and pulled the object closer to adjust it and stare keenly at the blue light atop it, "its negative; the creature was displaying negative emotions." His voice became dark and wondering.

"Those could be anything, from anger to sadness to mourning to irritation to-"

"I didn't say it would be very specific," he said, still staring at the device. I waited for him to remember my presence again.

Suddenly he snapped off his glasses and put both objects in his inside pocket. "Come on!"

He rushed past me and grabbed my hand, and again we were running out of the back garden, round the side of the house, and down the street. I found his energy remarkable, like an unpredictable puppy. "Did you find anything in that thing?" I called.

"I dont know!" he called back, and I held back a slightly impatient giggle. "Is all of your work guess work?"

He slowed down a bit, and stopped for a moment, his hand still tight around mine. He sniffed in thought, and seemed to be raking something over again. "Yeah, pretty much. But its saved a few worlds." He grinned confidently and arrogantly, flashing his teeth and winking. Usually I would have rolled my eyes and called him a name; I simply knew, however, that his confidence was not really misplaced.

Then we were running again.


	4. Chapter 4

"Im beginning to get sick of this place," I sighed. We had slowed down to a cautious walk, since we were so close to the clearing.

"Think how she feels," the Doctor remarked from in front, still with a tight grip on my hand reassuringly. I thought of the possibility of seeing her again, and I felt cold air trickle through my spine. "Shes quite a regular."

"How do you know?"

"Oi, this thing is more useful than a piece of metal."

I smirked to myself, but he heard and threw me a weak frown. "Fine! I believe you."

Finally we came to the clearing before the frozen pond, and I could hear only silence. That silence, so distinctive. And the bridge wasn't even in view yet.

"She's close by," I whispered, but he turned and put a finger to his lips slowly, and crouched soundlessly behind a tree. I followed his movements, and the direction of his eyes. The bridge was occupied. We waited silently for movement, but, as we watched, she didn't even blink.

"Ahh," the man next to me breathed, and a sense of realisation settled on his face. Gently, he tugged on my hand and rose again, and lead the way into the space confidently.

"Doctor! What are you doing?" I whispered sharply, but that didn't seem to register with the frozen figure anyway. He continued to gain on her, and we were soon standing on the bridge with her. She didn't flinch.

"I see you've evolved eh? Or at least a sub species, you're hardly as inconspicuous."

"What is she?"

"'She', is a Weeping Angel, _although _quite different. 'She' belongs to race of beings, although no one _really _knows where they come from."

"Why isn't 'she' moving?"

His voice turned dark. "Because we're watching."

I waited for further explanation, and looked up at him. His eyes were solidly focused on the woman.

"They're assassins, silent, when no one is looking. But that strength is also their greatest weakness. They become quantum locked, like this, under constant watch."

"So, they can't move...as long as we're watching?"

He nodded in confirmation. "Why did you look away when the boy went missing?"

I thought back to all that time ago, and found it was only 2 hours ago, depending on how long I was unconscious for. Time seemed to go slower with him.

"I heard a voice in my ear."

He nodded again thoughtfully. He let go of my hand, and didn't look at me as he motioned me to watch her with his fingers. "Don't blink."

Its amazing how much you want to do something when you're told you can't.

…

"Yes, quite different. Telepathy? Thats quite new. Efficient, granted. But what exactly is your purpose here? How do you work...why do you need it..."

"Doctor..."

He snapped his eyes round. "Yep?"

Her eyes were still trained on the figure, although they were struggling against dryness. "Simon seemed...hypnotised, when he saw her. He genuinely thought it was his mother."

He looked back at the figure, and backed away from it to stand next to Mia. "So they use it to gain the complete trust of the child. They go willingly. But why is that so important?"

"Maybe they don't intend to hurt them."

He was about to question her words, however logical they seemed, when his eyes flashed with a bright light. The image burned.

"Oi! What was that for?!" he shouted at the woman, for now he could barely call her a statue, and realised she had vanished. He continuously blinked, and checked the girl next to him was still there. Instead, she was a bundle on the floor.

"Mia! You alright?"

Her body felt...heavier. She wasn't responding. Her head was bowed loosely. Had she passed out again? He was about to curse the human weakness again, but then, he heard her breath.

"Ill never get used to women fainting around me," he said, his voice evidently relieved. He tried to set her straight, but she was still so heavy. "Mia? I need your..._help..._" he forced through his teeth, but he still couldn't lift her.

Another flash invaded his vision, and he felt the figure disappear from his arms. When he opened his eyes again, she was gone.

"No...no no no no NO!" He ranted, and searched frantically from his spot as he shoved his hands over his head in panic. He felt sick when he finally found her.

"MIA! What the – don't move!"

Something was wrong, he felt it even as he said those words. She was staring at him...ever so still. But he sensed her eyes weren't quite on his.

_Doctor...so slow..._

The voice in his head was so light, it was almost a whisper. Each word was drawn out, slowly, ghostlike, but it was almost hers. Almost.

_How do you expect one to move as you see me?_

"Let her go," he warned, his voice terrifying and low. "Now."

_Why would one? This mind...a treasure a TREAT!_

He wished her eyes would blink, just once, but they were frozen wide, wider than any humans should go. Even from this distance, he could see that they were becoming red.

"Bring her back, or I'll come and get her."

_You truly are slow, Doctor. Ice is not as strong as I. _

"Then bring her back."

_Would you risk your eyes from one? _

"_Then I'll wait." _He warned again through his teeth.

_Ones body is warm, Doctor. This ice will not wait for us._

He gave her the darkest look he could muster under the pressure, and began a slow walk around the frozen pond, perhaps to find the shortest route to her, not once taking his eyes from her. Soon enough he found that she'd managed to land slap bang in the middle. Damn it.

"Why do you take children then," he asked impatiently, and sat on a fallen tree next to the frozen water.

_Why do you not seem to care about your friend?_

"I asked first."

The girl, still sitting, chuckled a husky laugh. _Children have imagination. Such as our world needs. You have the power of limitless travel, Doctor. Many cultures. Such richness._

"So why do need this woman?"

_Her mind is a wonderous place, Doctor. So many alley ways, such corners. Such colour...oh, how must you see her! Oh, so short a time with her...you should care for her still. _

"So you're just a scavenger. Picking innocent people up and using them with no thought for them. What happens to them then?" he spat angrily.

_What happens to your friends, Doctor? Isn't that essentially just what **you **are? Picking innocent people up and using them...to relieve your own loneliness. What happens to them?_

"What happened to your planet?"

_Excuse me?_

"Your planet. What happened?"

The girl sat, dumbfounded, restless eyes frowning and searching continuously, as though the answer floated before her in the wind. _I don't understand._

"You speak of loneliness and of creativity. But you, your race, is as old as time itself. Why now? Why so bored, all of a sudden? You've had thousands, _**MILLIONS, **_of years for a change, and you choose now."

_Is all of your work guess work?_

"On occasion. But pieces of the puzzle sometimes fit too well for ignorance."

_You seem only to have one._

"Oh, really?"

He stood, still focused on her keenly. He threw his hands into his trouser pockets and lowered his eyes, so he was watching her beneath his eyebrows. "You're recolonising aren't you?"

That silenced her, if only for a few seconds.

"Not just with humans, oh no. You've taken _all_ children in this area. Even the birds; why birds? And another thing how do you explain your arrival? All this way...just to take a few children and a young woman with a better mind...it's too much to piece together."

_You're killing time, Doctor._

He was perfectly aware of that. He could hear the seconds tick with each pair of heartbeats. At least he was aware she was still in there.

"You're mind control isn't complete. Why not?"

_Excuse one? It is at it's ultimate._

"Possibly, but it's not total mind control. She's battling, right? Shes stronger than the average child's mind; but you haven't had to develop it, because that's the only mind you aim for."

_Jibberjabbering, Doctor, _She reminded him. Her voice was slightly more normal now. But her words were not unfamiliar. She was fighting against it...She was becoming stronger, too.

_Pray, continue. This child will simply give in, and her mind will be filled to each corner until she cannot escape one's power. You forget? One is pure energy; I can escape. You gain nothing, Doctor, by your delay. _

"I'm delaying your escape from my sight. And while your mind control keeps her subdued to a degree, the moment that ice breaks...survival instinct kicks in. Its far too strong."

_You place too much faith in her, Time Lord..._

"Get out..." a strained voice forced. It wasn't his own, or even the thing in her head. It was clearly...

"I said...g-get-t o-out..."

"NOW!" She roared. He pictured fire flaring from her lips, but image was far too fearsome to laugh at. A small thing like her could still be terrifying, even without the ghost like voice. He couldn't believe how happy he was to _see _her again.

…

I felt my eyes ping back like a spring, and pain shot through them with a fiery flash. They blinked continuously without my conscious decision, and when I opened them, they seemed to be misty. I was also heaving in the air, also without really knowing, as though my body had been deprived of air for a matter of minutes. Like i'd been drowning.

Mist was gushing from my mouth, too much to be simple cool air. Too thick.

"Mia?!" A familiar voice shouted desperately, and the familiarity was disconcerting. "Hmm?" Just then I realised how numb my legs were.

"Don't move! I'm just...er...Dont move!" He warned, using his hands forcefully to convey his point. He was testing the ice before me with his foot, and shot it away when it creaked.

Realisation didn't so much as hit me...it just crept up. "Doctor...why am I on...am I on the...?"

"Don't panic!"

Don't panic, he says. Flailing about like a panicked octopus. I began to let my autopilot take control, and watched my hands spread out over the floor before me.

"Can't your magic screwdriver do anything in these situations?!" My words came out harsher than intended, but I felt I needed to let him know I was ok, that I was Mia again. As I carefully adjusted my body to lay flat down on the ice, he smirked nervously. "Not unless you want it to open the ice."

I shimmied over the ice delicately, and heard something creak far beneath. "Doc-"

"Shh...its alright...," He whispered. I looked up to find his feet on the ice, hand outstretched. He flexed his fingers keenly. "Gently..." he mused, and edged his own feet closer in, closer...

"Don't take your eyes off me...she might still be..."

I grabbed his hand and he tore me away, faster than any human could move, faster than the ice had chance to swallow us into the ice cold water. I didn't even realise we were back on the solid, crunchy grass until I heard it beneath my boots. He let me fall back to my feet, but his warm arms stayed in place.

"Thanks..." I forced through chattering teeth, but I was too numb to be cold. But at least it seemed to be gone from my mind. I understood now what that mist was pouring from my mouth.

"Did you see anything? While she was in there...did you find anything out? Did she tell you anything?"

His arms loosened from me, and he looked at me head on. His eyes were wide and curious, but dangerous simultaneously.

Thankfully some feeling was returning, and my coat began to feel warm and snug again. Inhalation didn't hurt so much any more. I trained my mind back, but I found images flash by that I never wished to recall.

"Yeah...a flash of light...it burned."

"Go on."

I ignored the brooding settling in his eyebrows and concentrated instead on making my voice sound unaffected. "Images flashed, like...fire. It was dark...night...but the fire. There wasn't any sound, but I got the jist. I felt it...

_One felt it, Doctor..._

"Mia. Mia come back to me," he ordered, and gripped my upper arms. I felt a pain in my eyes, but I couldn't shout out. I was frozen as I heard someone else's words move my lips.

_The fire..._

"What fire?" his distant voice asked calmly, the desperation simmering quietly beneath.

_One has heard stories, Doctor. Time Lord. He who saves worlds once lost in the void...he who spares the lives of those once taken...The fire...Doctor..._

As I heard my- her words, slow and haunting and despairing, I finally heard the sounds of the images I was shown. The screams filled my head, the souls who simply burnt, unmoving as solid stone as their own watched in horror. I knew, somehow, what they were feeling, locked while my body channelled the voice of another.

_Why not save us, our world, Doctor?_

The Doctor, I noticed, hadn't answered for a while, and I waited in suspended silence, just as she did. I didn't even try and fight against her.

"I'm...I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."

As he said those words, I felt the pressure in my head subside, and it suddenly felt roomy. My limbs felt warm again in their sleeves, I felt the wool of my mittens against my hands, my hair brushing gently around my face as the wind picked up. A veil of colourlessness seemed to fold away, and again I was greeted by the image of the man I'd been itching to hug and tell it was going to be ok. His guilt ridden face looked up to the stars.

"They can't blame you."

He peered down quickly, and found my beside him, and grinned like the erratic man he was. Still, I wasn't fooled, and he soon realised as it slid from his lips. "No, but theyre right. I've saved planets. Why didn't I save them?" he mused, his tired voice trailing away as he peered up to the sky again. I thought for a moment over his question. "Not everyone can be saved. It would seem you can't, anyway. But...a single man can't save an entire planet..."

He gave me a smug look, and I saw that arrogant genius glittering away in his eyes.

"...Can he?"

"Well," he began modestly, pulling a face like it was no big deal. He shrugged and sniffed flippantly, like it was just another day at the office for him. An image struck me, and I deteriorated into a fit of giggles. There he was, a seemingly average handsome man, travelling around space in a suit and a blue box. It was absurd.

"What?" He wined, and I paused only to breath and catch his childish irritated expression, and burst out laughing again. I didn't know whether it was the image itself or the nights events that made me laugh so much, or whether my nerves were still alight and flaring away.


	5. Chapter 5

The Doctor stayed only long enough to watch her fall asleep on the sofa, after which he checked the house was safe and nothing was hiding in the shadows. He had to wonder what a girl was doing living on her own any way. Yeah sure she was self sufficient and independent, but it was Christmas! No one should be alone at Christmas, surely!

The thought irritated him so, even with his past memories of Christmas. He should hate it and dread it and push it away with a 10 ft barge pole, but he couldn't. Something about the very _human _event, something that made him admire them so, that they could celebrate each other even in the most manic of times. Even when there was a mile wide ship hovering over their houses just hours before, they could still sit round a table and tell jokes.

He felt foolish wondering around her house, he knew perfectly well it was safe. He checked every nook and found nothing, and soon he was rechecking, and after that he was wondering again, and after that he sat on the other sofa and contemplated.

_Ask her, _his head urged. He pushed the thought away. Of course, he couldn't endanger her like that. As much as it felt right, as much as _she _felt like the right choice, could he? He'd worked so hard on becoming cautious, keeping them at arms length, making sure neither got too close.

She'd be easy to forget, wouldn't she? He'd only known her two, three hours.

_Imagine how you'd feel after a week or two, _his mind pondered. He had a point.

No.

All he had to do was ask. What would be the harm?

…

When I awoke, dim light gently filtered into my eyes, tinted red by the drawn curtains. I allowed them to drift open naturally, and stretched away my grogginess as I let the events of yesterday float back to me. The strangeness of it all didn't even effect my sleep; completely dreamless. Well...except for a voice. _His _voice, unmistakeable as it was.

_Join me, Mia, _it would say. That was it.

I sat up straight and let the blanket fall, and wondered why it felt heavy, and glanced down to the beige trench coat in my hand.

"Doctor."

Throwing it off and shoving on a jacket, I grabbed it back from the sofa and ran outside. With incredulous relief, the blue police box was still there. Whether the man was inside it was another question.

"Hello?"

The door creaked open and I peered inside nervously. "Must get that sorted," I reminded the unseen man, and lay his coat gently over the near by rail.

"It's on the to do list," his voice said from above, and I looked up to find him crouching on one of the upper floors. I couldn't remember seeing them before.

"For how long now?"

He shrugged and made a thoughtful face. "Since I first got her. Leave her alone! Shes just a bit old.2

I laughed and closed the door behind me. "Why are you up there?"

He bounced back up onto his feet and ruffled his hair. "Looking for an outfit worthy of saving a world. What d'ya think?" He turned round on the spot while I tried to notice what was new.

"The tie!"

He grinned that now familiar true grin and I felt myself blush. He disappeared for a moment, perhaps to check his appearance in the mirror, and then appeared again via fire man's pole at the back of the large room, like the man couldn't get any weirder.

"What's the occasion?" I quizzed.

"Oh you know, save a planet, return a few kids. Usual."

He stayed in place next to the column expectantly, as thought waiting for a reply.

"Cool," I commented nonchalantly, though I was probably trying to delay him. Silence fell soon enough, feeling longer than probable reality. It was broken by his awkward sigh and my breathy laugh as he scratched the back of his head. He truly was adorable.

"Well, I shan't delay you, erm...Merry Christmas." I smiled widely, and turned hastily to make my way out.

"Wait."

I peered round, silently hoping to be asked...something. What it was I wasn't quite sure.

"Well, if you have nothing- erm...if you have no other plans, that is..."

"Go on," I urged with a gentle smile.

"Fancy joining me? Wouldn't be too dangerous; meet a couple of life forms you know... unless you..."

"Which planet?"

He pulled that usual thoughtful expression that changed his whole demenour as he rocked on his converses. "Don't know yet, as I mentioned no one quite knows where the Weeping Angels come from but-"

"What? But wasn't that already...was she mistaken?"

"Oh no! No no no, that happened."

I waited impatiently for an explanation, and folded my arms over myself questioningly.

"This little blue box," he mused mysteriously, "is more than just a get away car. The TARDIS can also travel through time." He sat back on the control panel as he waited for me to be impressed. I was still too in awe for it to register.

"It...travels through...time? You're a..."

"...yep."

"Time Lord! Of course!" I flapped my arms to my sides as realisation hit me, and that...what ever she was...her words made sense. _Save worlds once lost..._

He smiled down self consciously, and make eye contact, the question still in his brown orbs.

"So I have all the time in the world to consider, I assume?"

"To a degree, of course. It may be dangerous at times..."

"But it's worth it?"

He nodded slowly.

Silently, I exited, adrenaline racing through me as I considered the prospects.

…

He watched the back of her as she left the TARDIS with a sinking feeling, just in case. It would, of course, be truly logical for her to refuse him. More logical than accepting it, any way. Funny how he only doubted when he couldn't see her. It felt like the most _right _thing in the world while her eyes were in sight, wise and strong as they were.

Yes, she was strong. And it was only fitting for her to start here, just at the beginning of the mystery she discovered first. And the angels seemed to like her, they certainly didn't want to hurt her. To them, her mind was a wonderful place. He was almost jealous that they'd seen that.

He was pondering for a few long minutes, and he was beginning to wonder whether she was returning at all...

I scribbled a quick note to my parents, wherever they were, mentioning only that I was travelling with friends. After that I flung my very full back pack over my shoulder and made way for the blue box, the nonsensical thing I would be travelling around in for I didn't know how long.

Knowing how uncertain my near future was now was exhilarating, if not a little scary. But what is life without a little living?

I creaked open the door again just in time to find his face, filled with relief, as he bounced into a stance and slammed his hands and fingers over a few buttons, and I thought over the chaos I would soon be experiencing as the pulsating, electric noise filled my ears.

"Ready?!" He shouted over the noise. I nodded with as much excitement as was on his own grinning face.

His hand pulled down on a lever, and we were flying.


	6. Chapter 6

"First stop!" The Doctor called, and we were slammed to a stop without warning. I took a few deep breaths to calm my nerves, and eased my fingers from gripping the railings. "Need a license for this thing," I mumbled, and he opened the door with a look aimed my way.

"Sorry, sorry, i didn't mean to insult your driving skills-"

"Thing?! _Thing?! _She's sensitive!"

"Her or you?"

With another look, he pushed the door open with his unpocketed hand, and a bright light invaded my vision, though it didn't hurt. It wasn't fire, or even sunlight. The pale white glow, ever becoming as dim as an after image, showed a melancholy expression newly settled on the Doctor's face.

"Where are we? Is this...?"

I had images of this beautiful white light becoming flames, and it was heartbreaking. A race that lived on such a place was going to be nearly completely eliminated...

"No. You're in the past."

My eyes widened before that even registered. He smiled a cocky smile in approval. "Told ya."

"Impossible."

He leaned back slightly, and his lips opened as though another rant was about to pour from his lips like water from a broken tap, but I exited into the unknown before my brain could be bombarded.

The field was just the same. Just as starkly white, the trees just the same, still just as abandoned. The snow was undisturbed.

"About...4 seconds before you arrive. 5 minutes before the boy runs to you. Look, here you come."

I turned my head to the left, and only just realised we were concealed in some trees. Down the pathway, I watched a boutite girl, red headed and pale, making her way up towards us. I slowly backed away back into the blue box. The TARDIS seemed safer now. I watched the girl, as though she were separate and a stranger, ignorant and in her own little world.

"How does it feel?" The Doctor asked from behind, all the way back into the TARDIS. I turned to find his back at the control panel.

"Is this a test?"

He smirked, and eyed over the buttons and levers near his hand. "As i said, we're saving a world. Just not the same ones as each other."

I frowned, and muled over his riddled words for a hidden meaning. "Do you mean to say...you're going alone?"

He grinned, so sudden that it caught me off guard. "Two birds, one stone."

"You're leaving me here?! What do I-...how do I...how do I even do it?"

"You're out there. Do what you think is right. It hasn't been too long, 19, 20 hours and a bit? Hmm...no, the consequences shan't be _that _bad."

"What does that mean?!" I was becoming exasperated by his riddles, and he knew that. He couldn't just be simplistic.

"You're smart, you'll know. Let your instincts kick in, this time."

I gritted my teeth, and let that advice sink in. I realised soon enough what he was asking me to do. I nodded, and took in the face i would perhaps never see again. He was smiling, but it wasn't real.

"I know what to do," i said. It was so quiet, it might have just been to myself. I turned, and exited once again. The familiar low pulsing began, and i ignored the breeze behind me as I tried to ignore the fact that it, and he, were disappearing.

Without thinking ahead, i focused on the girl straight ahead, having left a trail of footprints behind. She still felt like an utter stranger, despite my shoes fitting in the holes she'd left, and my being the same height, her hair the exact same shade. I stared at her back for a second, thankful i couldn't see her face. This way, she wasn't me. If I met my own eyes, I didn't know how I'd react.

With one step, i closed my eyes, as though i moved against my own control.

...

My body felt heavy, if only for a second, but it disappeared as soon as I opened my eyes. Instead of the girl stood there, i was met with the same image i had just under a day before. Deja vu hit me, and it was gone with the knowledge that I _had_ been here before, and it wasn't my brain pushing for a match. The experience was surreal, but i didn't have much chance for it to sink in. A painfully familiar voice called for me, followed by the sounds of small bumps on the floor. I almost didn't want to turn to see the tearful face.

"What's wrong sweety?" I asked calmly, and again, that feeling of Deja vu came.

"It's my mom, s-shes...i cant find her," he wept, but something was strange. Different. Last time, he was more controlled than this. And i knew why.

"Where did you last see her?"

He shrugged, and searched behind. He pointed back.

"Well, why don't we stay here and wait for her? I'm sure she wont be long." He thought about it, and nodded with a hiccup. "We were g-going to bu-build a snowm-man..."

I smiled, and thought of the Doctor, and the first time I met him. Yesterday, it seemed so long ago. He seemed genuinely upset that the snow wasn't being played with.

"My friend and I were, but he had to go. Wanna join forces?" A grin tugged at his face, and he began at work on the first half of the body.

Half way through, a second frantic voice stopped us in our tracks. Simon began running straight away, and a blond woman took him in his arms desperately. I couldn't help the smile next to the headless snowman.

"Mom, this is Mia, she looked after me and look at the snowman! He almost had a head! He'd look better with a head...can I just make a head for him please?"

"No need young man," a startling voice announced from far off, and ran towards us with a ball of snow in his skinny hands. He plonked it on and wedged it with more snow. "There we are!"

I stared at the man, unable to believe his image. "You're back then," I whispered.

"Yep," he said cheerfully, popping the 'p'. "See you've been busy, cracking snowman," he observed enthusiastically, and winked at me.

Simon's mom cleared her throat, and our eyes met with smiles. "Thank you so much for stopping with him," she said gratefully. Tears were still in her eyes. I laughed self consciously, and glanced at the Doctor. "It wasn't long, plus we did make a brilliant snow man. Glad to help."

The pair waved, and soon there were off, leaving the myself and the Doctor, and the snowman.

"You're like a Labrador," i observed randomly as i glanced to his smiling face. He seemed smug.

"So you were successful."

"As were you, beautifully done."

I matched his wide grin with my own. "Are you going to explain your riddles now? How was i saving a world?"

Silently, the Doctor turned on his feet, and began walking with his coat tales flapping behind. I soon caught up. "Haven't you wondered why i brought you back? We could have gone and saved the angels and prevent their ever coming to earth."

"It did occur to me, so im assuming there is logic behind your reasons."

We continued to walk, until we came to a familiar clearing. We stopped in the gap between the trees, the same ones as the night previous, to us anyway. The night that existed only to us, now.

"The angels aren't here now. How was Simon without the mind control?"

I sighed, falling into his serious tone. "Frantic. He wouldn't have known where to go."

I looked up to the tall man, and he nodded silently. He ruffled his hair absentmindedly. "Without you, and without the angels controlling him, he would have wondered. Wondered far into the woods, it would have been night and it would've been freezing."

Realisation hit me, and a tear escaped as i stared at the empty bridge. His hand wrapped around mine reassuringly. "But you saved him, didn't you?"

"But yesterday, yesterday to us i mean, i took him to look for her. That still happened, he was taken by them."

"He was being taken by them before he went to you. He wouldn't have stopped, and since they like your mind so much it wouldn't surprise me if they used their little tricks on you aswell."

I sighed in defeat. "Weak human brain."

He guffawed, and i turned to glare at him. His face was incredulous. "Weak! You humans, you save children from angels and freezing to death and figure this all out for yourself, and you still underestimate yourselves! And you, Mia Morton, stun even the most intelligent of creatures of the galaxies, and you take on all this information and you s_till _complain! I give up."

"You show ill founded confidence in humans as a man who just singlehandedly saved a planet."

Wordlessly, he turned, and lead me out of the clearing and the low sound of birds. His hand was still with mine, but it almost felt normal. "Years of practice."

"Do i want to know how many?"

He made the thoughtful noise that sounded like noise being forced out of a reluctant mouth. "900 years, give or take."

I dismissed the idea of questioning him instantly; the man was simply unbelievable.

We came to the TARDIS, and he held the door open for me. I peaked inside. "Anything else i should know before we do this?"

He let his head fall back in thought. "Ever travelled with a man with two hearts?"

"Oh, all the time. At least you travel with a spare."

I stepped foot inside, settled with the fact that we could go anywhere, and i could, in theory, come back right where I started.


End file.
